Forever and Always
by exoticeyes
Summary: Time never waits for anyone. He always knew that. She didn't think that they'd run out of time, didn't think that she'd gain so much happiness and then watch it fall from her.
1. Chapter 1

**Forever and Always**

* * *

_I want you forever, forever and always_  
_Through the good and the bad and the ugly_  
_We'll grow old together_  
_Forever and always_

-Parachute

* * *

_December:_

Snow falls down the night sky. She waits in the empty park, waiting for him to come. He said he wanted to talk to her. She finds a bench and sits on it, feeling it cool underneath her. She turns her head, searching for him, and glances at her watch. The wind howls and she shivers, pulling her black overcoat closer to her and tucks her white scarf tighter around her neck. She leans back and stares into the night sky.

He approaches her soundlessly, footsteps inaudible. He keeps his breath in even paces, unable to hide them in the air; his breath forms white puffs into the cold air. He nears her and stops, taking in her sweet soothing form. He watches the snow decorate her porcelain skin and her dark overcoat. White flakes land on her pink lashes, some wet her light scarf. He spots a snowflake kissing her lips and walks to her.

He stops in front of her and places a hand on her face, his palm on her cheek. He runs his thumb in a small circle over a patch of her skin, generating heat. She cracks open an eye and grins at him. Her hand reaches up to grasp his wrist. She snuggles into his hand, holding him against her.

"I missed you." She peers up at him, smiling.

"So did I." He takes a seat next to her, body faced towards her. She straightens, sit up straight now.

"What did you want to tell me?" She asks.

"I wanted to tell you..." He stops, hesitating. Normally, he wouldn't hesitate. Normally, he doesn't. When he's with her, he questions himself more.

She smiles. "Go on ahead. I'm listening." She holds his hands in hers and squeezes them in reassurement. She thinks about the first time they met. She didn't even know it was him.

She was trailing after a suspect one night. She could hear her teammates directing her through her earbuds as she stopped behind a corner. She peeked at the open space and spotted the suspect running away; she chased the person, getting caught up in the chase. In the end, she walked right into a trap. Three men against her. She shot one in the foot, one in both his arms. The other one snuck up behind her and headlocked her. She stomped on his foot with all her might, twisting around him while grabbing his arm. He sliced at her arm with a knife and smacked her gun away before she could shoot. She made the mistake of looking for her gun and he kicked her in the stomach. She fell down, shutting her eyes in pain. He scurried to the fallen gun, picked it up and stalked over to her. He raised the gun-ready to kill her- but then, his eyes rolled back and he fell backwards. She got on her two feet, feeling her stomach sore, and heard the suspect's head smack on the concrete floor of the alley. Standing across from her, she saw a cloaked man. He had a hand raised in the air, holding the butt of the gun where the suspect once stood.

Sakura painfully but quickly bent down to cuff the three men's hands and legs. She stood back up, seeing her savior walking out from the alley. "Thank you for saving my life."

"You ought to be more careful next time." He turns around, his back to her, and that's when she notices the red clouds plastered all over his cloak. She clutches her bleeding arm and scrambles back away from him. He's an Akatsuki. She swallows, wondering why her enemy saved her. Before he could disappear into the night, she asks, "Why did you help me? You obviously know who I work for."

He stops, never turning back to look at her. "It's because I know _of_ you that I decided to lend you a hand; it's not because you work for ANBU." He walks out from the alley and she leans against the wall, feeling relieved, confused and intrigued all at the same time. (A/N: end of flashback)

"Sakura, we've been through so much together these past six months," he says. He looks up to the sky, thinking now with a concentrating expression. She stares at his aristocratic face and brushes some of his dark bangs from his face. She runs a hand through his tidy ponytail. It's so soft, his hair. She brushes her cheeks with the tips of his hair. He leans closer to her, wrapping an arm around her small body.

"I love you," he says. He places his chin on the crown of her pink hair. She places a cold hand on his throat and places a kiss on the base of his throat. He sighs in relaxation. This is all he wants, her and him together forever. He fights against the nagging idea that he could lose her anyday. This is the life they live. They put their lives on the line everyday; that's why every moment counts, every second of the day.

He gets up, staring down at her. She remains sitting, surprised and interested.

"Sakura, that night I saved you...it wasn't just because I knew you were my brother's friend. It wasn't because I heard a lot about you. It wasn't because I thought you were weak." His dark eyes pin her down. "I saved you because I wanted to get to know you better; I saved you because I was interested in you. A lot of people talked about this pink-haired newbie who just enrolled into ANBU. I never met you even though I'm technically still in ANBU."

"And you know why I'm dating you, Itachi. I love you. It's not only because you saved me that night, and multiple times, it's because I wanted to know more about you also. And, now, I do know a lot about you." She stands up, dusting the snow off of her. He reaches over and brushes some snow from her rosy hair.

"We've risked so much already; we've dated for six months in secrecy, Sakura. If someone finds out about us, you could be killed, used as hostage, or manipulated just because we're lovers." He looks away, beginning to wonder if he should say what he's about to say, what he wants to say. "...But, I don't care. As long as I'm with you, you're going to remain safe and alive."

"Itachi," she says, softly. She's uncertain of what brought this all on. She lifts a hand, reaching to touch him. He gets onto one knee as snow descends from the sky. She ceases breathing, extremely shocked now. Her hand retreats back to her side now. She stiffens, knowing what might come next.

"Like I said earlier, Sakura, we've already been through so much; we've shared so many good and bad times together and that just proves that we can continue doing this. Everyday, I wake up afraid that you might not be here because of what you- no, _we_- do. I want to wake up with you next to me. Will you marry me?" he says. He looks up at her. She towers over him.

"Itachi, I…" she starts but stops. Her emerald eyes water. She bites her lips. So many excuses pop into her head. They've only been together for six months. Sasuke hates his brother for betraying ANBU and he already suspects her of communicating with some Akatsuki member; she doesn't want to upset Sasuke. Everybody thinks that Itachi betrayed ANBU, when in reality, he's an undercover agent. No one knows about their relationship, no one but them two. She breathes in silently and shakes her head softly.

"I'm sorry, Itachi. I really am; I still love you though. I-I just think that I'm not ready for marriage yet. Don't take this the wrong way." She watches him stand up, smiling softly. She arches a brow, thinking, he's not mad?

"I had a feeling that you might say that." He stands across from her, a tiny gap between them.

"I'm sorry." She looks at the ground, feeling awkward now. She feels like she just created a giant gap between them. He closes the tiny distance, wraps an arm around her waist, and lifts her face up with a calloused finger. "Why are you being so weird now, huh?" He arches a dark brow.

"I don't know. I just feel like I messed things up for us." She looks up at him with glassy eyes. She blinks and looks away. He sighs and rubs her back. "So emotional, as always. That's why I love you. You don't need to feel guilty, Sakura. There's always next time."

"Next time?" she repeats, hugging him. She rests her head on his solid chest.

He nods. "Yes, next time."

She smiles into his shirt before tiptoeing to press her lips against his.

* * *

A/N: Review? Inspired by parachute's forever and always.


	2. Chapter 2

**Forever and Always**

* * *

_I want you forever, forever and always  
Through the good and the bad and the ugly  
We'll grow old together, and always remember  
Whether happy or sad or whatever  
We'll still love each other, forever and always  
Forever and always, forever and always_

- Parachute

* * *

_Two months after December:_

She lays in her bed, reading a book late at night. She hears a pounding on her door. Before she enters the foyer, she glances at the ticking clock. It's one in the morning. Who could it be? She opens her door and finds a cloaked, disheveled Itachi standing in front of her door. He walks in and she steps aside before shutting the door completely.

"What happened?"she asks, concerned. He looks worried. She follows him into her living room. He stops, looking at the clock-the only thing that makes sound in this silence. She leans against a wall, letting him have his personal time. She scans his body, searching for any injuries. He has none.

"Where've you been these past months?" she asks.

He doesn't turn to look at her, continuing to watch the clock tick away. "Akatsuki scheduled me for some missions out in Kumo. That's why I haven't been around for a while." She walks over to him, wrapping her arm around his chest as she presses her face into his cloaked back. She breathes in his scent.

"I missed you."

"I know. I couldn't stop thinking about you for these past two months." Turning around now, he shrugs out of his cloak, tossing it onto the ground before staring at it with mixed expressions. She sees a look of disgust and sadness. His face reverts back to its stoic expression, unreadable. He leans down to kiss her, cupping the back of her neck. One of his hands moves to her waist, moving back and forth at the hem of her tank top. His thumb touches the bare skin of her hip. He moves his hand down the sides of her dark shorts, trailing down to her creamy thighs. He grips the back of her thigh and hooks it around his waist before doing the same to her other thigh.

She locks her legs around him, cooperating. She looks at him questioningly. She wants to ask what happened, wants to know why he was so worried, but she doesn't want to interrupt their special time.

He smashes his lips against hers. Her hands reach and entangle themselves in his hair. He trails kisses from her lips down her throat as he walks blindly in the dark. She grips his hair as he presses her against a wall in the hallway, keeping her between him and an inanimate object. He nibbles at her neck and she giggles, thinking of him as a vampire. She feels his lips forming a silent question against the base of her throat. He presses even deeper into her neck, tongue licking her vulnerable skin before he sucks greedily.

"Oh," she groans before sighing into his hair. She arches her throat back, giving him more open space as he moves back up her throat. His hands shift behind her tank top and she puts her hands on his wrist, stopping him.

"Itachi, I am not having sex in my hallway. To the bed, mister."

"Alright, Miss," he replies, smirking. He changes his hold on her into a bridal style and dashes to her room. He dumps her playfully onto the twin size bed and she squeals. Before she can sit up, he pounces on her, caging her in with his arms. He looks down at her and she looks up at him, nervous. They've had sex before, but the way he stares at her makes her nervous.

"What's the matter?" she asks. Maybe he doesn't want to do it anymore? A feeling of disappointment washes through her. He shakes his head. "I was just remembering how pretty you are."

She blushes.

He leans down to kiss her exposed collarbone. "Simply beautiful." He kisses her throat, lips brushing the mark he left on her just a minute ago. "You are the perfect one." He molds his lips against hers, crushing himself to her. She opens her mouth slightly and his tongue slips in. She wriggles and moves against him; his hand lifts her tank top over her head as she sits up, revealing her sport bra. He frowns.

"I don't know why you decided to wear this one of all days."

"Uh, hello? Didn't know you were going to come and play with me today." She smirks. He growls and moves the cloth off her, only to find chest bindings keeping her breasts veiled. He sighs, sounding defeated, and she laughs in amusement; in a blink, he pushes her back down and eyes her white bindings. He grabs a loose end and unwraps her chest, keeping his eyes locked onto her green ones. He sits on her thighs, keeping her trapped beneath him, and she sits up to chuck off his shirt. He presses her back down, his bare chest to hers, and continues where he left off.

**-XXX-**

A while later, they both lay in bed with calming heart beats and sweaty skin. She lays between him and the wall, naked underneath the blanket. She scoots closer to him, gingerly tugging at his hair. "Itachi, tell me what happened."

He lies on his back, eyes shut with his chest moving up and down as he breathes rhythmically. He opens his eyes, drapes an arm around the curve of her waist, and turns onto his side to stare at her. Her flushed cheeks and marked throat, her green and concern-filled eyes- he wants to keep her forever, alive. "I was on my way back to Konoha a couple hours ago and one of the Akatsuki members told me that Orochimaru had struck Konoha."

"What? Really? When was this?" she asks, looking alert now.

"Orochimaru took a civilian from Konoha, a female specifically, and skinned her. He hung her on the Hokage monument. I didn't set a foot on the site, but anyone on ground level could see a body dangling from the stone nose of the the third hokage. ANBU members were all over the place." Itachi stops speaking; he shuts his eyes, grits his teeth, and clenches his fists. He exhales loudly before continuing. "I searched the nearby members and didn't even see you at all. I thought that it might have been you, Sakura. It's reasonable, don't you think? You're a female; you work for ANBU. Why wouldn't he come after you so that he could push at ANBU or more specifically, Sarutobi? After all, Sarutobi was Orochimaru's mentor when he still lived here and Sarutobi still is the head of ANBU."

Sakura stiffens, scared that she could have been that woman. "When was this?"

"Midnight, an hour ago."

"Oh. Well, I was here all night. I didn't work tonight."

"Thank Kami, then." Itachi tightens his hold around her waist, snuggling his face into her hair. He shuts his eyes and tells her to sleep.

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A/N: any feedback?


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